Portland Timbers announce 2013 club awards at Stand Together Banquet

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers announced their club awards for the 2013 Major League Soccer season at the annual Stand Together Awards Banquet on Sunday evening at The Nines in downtown Portland. In total, eight major awards were given out as the club recognized achievements, performances and moments from the 2013 season.

Highlighting the banquet was the awarding of the club’s eight major awards – Golden Boot, Players’ Player of the Year, Up-and-Coming Player of the Year, Community Player of the Year, Play of the Year, Defender of the Year, Unsung Hero and Supporters’ Player of the Year. The Timbers also recognized the accomplishments of coaches and players affiliated with their youth development programs.

Proceeds from the Stand Together Banquet, which also featured a live and silent auction, benefit the Portland Timbers Community Fund and the Timbers’ work in the greater-Portland community.

Players’ Player of the Year – Darlington Nagbe
Voted by the players, midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe was selected as the Players’ Player of the Year. In a season of career numbers, Nagbe was one of the club’s leading goal-scorers, setting new career marks with nine goals and four assists. Six of the nine goals he scored during the regular season came on the road. He became the first Timbers MLS player to start all 34 games of a regular season in 2013, as he continued a run of 48 consecutive league starts dating back to last season. Nagbe was considered the best young player in the league in 2013, listed at No. 1 on MLSsoccer.com’s annual “24 Under 24” series. He was selected to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week five times and had two goals win MLS Goal of the Week. Over the course of the season, Nagbe became the Timbers MLS career leader in games played (95) and goals scored (17).

Supporters’ Player of the Year – Will Johnson
Voted on by supporters, Johnson was named the 2013 Supporters’ Player of the Year. The Timbers captain recorded career numbers in goals (9), assists (5) and minutes played (2,520) in his first season in Portland. Johnson was voted a 2013 MLS All-Star and was one of the top vote-getters at the midfield position. He was named the MLS Player of the Week in Week 5 by the North American Soccer Reporters after recording the first two-goal performance of his MLS career in a comeback, 2-2 draw on the road March 30 against Colorado. Johnson, who recorded one game-winning goal and two-game winning assists during the regular-season, was a five-time selection to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week and twice won MLS Goal of the Week. He was presented the award by members of the club’s supporters group, the Timbers Army.

Golden Boot – Diego Valeri
Presented by Timbers Ring of Honor inductee John Bain, midfielder Diego Valeri was awarded the Timbers Golden Boot as the club’s leading goal-scorer in 2013. With two goals and one assist in the regular-season finale, Valeri finished with 10 goals and a league-best 13 assists in his first season in Portland, and became the first Timbers MLS player to record double-digit goals and assists in a single season. He set new club MLS records in scoring (33 points), goals (10) and assists (13) in a single season; his 13 assists led the league. Voted by players to the 2013 MLS All-Star inactive roster, Valeri scored in three straight matches Sept. 7-20, including the game-winning strike in a 1-0 win over Colorado on Sept. 20, as part of the club’s eight-game unbeaten streak to end the regular season. Valeri had three goals win MLS Goal of the Week, one of which was his first MLS goal in the season-opener against the New York Red Bulls on March 3. During the season, Valeri factored in on nine consecutive goals (2 goals, 7 assists) across all competitions for the club from July 13-Aug. 21.

Unsung Hero – Jack Jewsbury
Defender Jack Jewsbury was awarded the Timbers Unsung Hero. A versatile player throughout his career, Jewsbury played 22 of his 26 matches this season at right back, and was a key contributor to one of the best defensive teams in MLS in 2013. He featured in 13 of the club’s 15 shutouts during the regular season, which ranks tied for second in MLS history for shutouts in a single season. Jewsbury helped the Timbers set a new MLS record with 11 home shutouts during the regular season, and started each of Portland’s MLS club record six straight shutouts at JELD-WEN Field from April 6-June 23. From his right back spot, Jewsbury assisted on the game-winning goal in a road win over D.C. United on May 25..

Play of the Year – Nagbe’s turnaround goal vs. FC Dallas June 15
The 2013 Timbers Play of the Year was awarded to Nagbe’s turnaround, game-winning goal against FC Dallas on June 15 at JELD-WEN Field. In the 52nd minute, Kalif Alhassan played the ball in to the left side of the penalty area to Nagbe with his back to goal. In one smooth, fluid movement, Nagbe received the ball and turned his defender before curling a beautiful shot by goalkeeper Raul Fernandez and inside the far post. His goal lifted the Timbers to a 1-0 win over FC Dallas, who at the time occupied first place in the Western Conference, on national TV, and helped the club continue along on its 15-game unbeaten run over the first half of the regular-season. His goal was voted by fans as the MLS Goal of the Week in Week 16. Becoming known as one for the spectacular goal, Nagbe was also the recipient of the Timbers Play of the Year in 2011.

Defender of the Year – Donovan Ricketts
Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts was named the Timbers Defender of the Year, putting up numbers in 2013 that rival his best seasons in MLS. Voted an inactive MLS All-Star by MLS players, Ricketts ranked among league leaders in several goalkeeping categories, including wins (13), saves (92), saves percentage (73) and goals-against average (0.97). He finished the regular season as the league leader with 14 shutouts – a new career-high – and owned three of the longest shutout streaks in MLS this season at 312, 323 and 401 minutes. Ricketts played every minute of the Timbers’ MLS club-record 587-minute home shutout streak from March 9-July 13 and helped the club set a new MLS single-season record with 11 home shutouts at JELD-WEN Field. He won MLS Save of the Week honors an impressive 10 times in 2013.

Community Player of the Year – Steven Evans
Midfielder and Homegrown Player Steven Evans contributed greatly to the Timbers community outreach efforts in 2013. He generously lent his time to numerous appearances and camps over the course of the season, participating in a variety of events and activities. Evans helped dedicate a new futsal court in May for families in Northeast Portland through Hacienda Community Development Corp., a project partially funded by the Timbers field grants program. He then helped lead a clinic with AC Portland for low-income youth at the futsal court during Stand Together Week in August. He joined Portland YouthBuilders for an inspirational back-to-school event in August, interacting with peers who are at-risk and attending school’s academic and vocational programs.

Up-and-Coming Player of the Year – Alvas Powell
Defender Alvas Powell was named the club’s Up-and-Coming Player of the Year. He joined the club midseason on loan from Jamaica’s Portmore United and played in five matches during the regular season. Powell made his MLS debut Aug. 3 against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and became the youngest player in Timbers MLS history to start and play in a match at 19 years, 16 days. The Jamaican international played in seven matches across all competitions for the first team, logging 485 minutes. Additionally, Powell played in four games for the Timbers Reserves.

Timbers U-23s Player of the Year – Bryan Gallego
Defender Bryan Gallego was honored as the 2013 Timbers U-23s Player of the Year. A leader on a talented squad, Gallego played in 10 matches during the 2013 Premier Development League (PDL) regular season, helping the club to a second place finish in the Northwest Division. He anchored a Timbers U-23s defense that led the Northwest Division with six shutouts and allowed a division-low 12 goals. He was named to the PDL Team of the Week in Week 6. Gallego aided in the team’s postseason run to the Western Conference final and helped the Timbers U-23s reach the second round of the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

Timbers Academy Player of the Year (2012-13) – Foster Langsdorf
Midfielder Foster Langsdorf was awarded the Timbers Academy Player of the Year for the 2012-13 season. From Vancouver, Wash., Langsdorf played in 25 games (24 starts) for the Timbers U-18 Academy during the 2012-13 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season, scoring three goals. Back for a second season with the Timbers U-18s in 2013-14, Langsdorf also appeared in five games, logging 242 minutes, for the Timbers Reserves during the 2013 MLS Reserve League campaign.

Timbers ODP Boys Coach of the Year – Sorin Popovici
A goalkeeping coach, Sorin Popovici was recognized as the Timbers ODP Boys Coach of the Year. Popovici’s reputation as a goalkeeping coach is well known and his passion for coaching youth players is inspiring. Under his direction, a number of Oregon ODP goalkeepers have moved on to ODP regional and national levels.

Timbers ODP Boys Player of the Year – Kevyn Lo
A Portland native, Kevyn Lo was named the Timbers ODP Boys Player of the Year for 2013. He is an up-and-coming midfielder from the Timbers Pre-Academy 1999 pool.

Timbers ODP Girls Coach of the Year – Rochelle Hearns
A positive influence on young female soccer players both on and off the field, Rochelle Hearns was awarded the Timbers ODP Girls Coach of the Year. She led a depleted Oregon girls ODP squad to the semifinals of last year’s Region IV tournament – one of the toughest ODP tournaments in the country – only falling to the eventual national champion, Cal-South.

Timbers ODP Girls Player of the Year – Sarah Jean Edwards
The Timbers ODP Girls Player of the Year was awarded to Sarah Jean Edwards. A promising goalkeeper from the 1999 ODP pool, Edwards is from Albany, Ore., and recently made the Western United States Regional Team that will travel to Florida for competitions in November.

Timbers Camp Coach of the Year – Fabio Rodriguez
Fabio Rodriguez was selected as the Timbers Camp Coach of the Year, working close to 10 camps over the course of the year. Rodriguez’s energy and passion every day on the field was inspiring, and his coaching received great feedback from players, parents and other coaches who worked with him.